Bought & Sold
by Adalind
Summary: Just like in #16, Vinnie owes a lot of money to someone. This time it's nasty loan shark called Ric Manoso. Things aren't looking good for Vinnie, or his cousin Stephanie either. Totally AU. Bad Boy Ric is back again.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Just something my warped little brain dreamt up the other day. Totally AU and more of the dark and very nasty Ranger that I like to write about. Just who is bank-rolling Vinnie, and what happens when he hands too much of the profits to his bookie? Sorta like #16 in an AU world. What about DK? I hear you all yell. Well… total writers block with that, I'm afraid. I can't even start the next chapter; in fact, the thought of starting the next chapter terrifies me! I'll get back to it in the end, I promise.

**Bought & Sold**

**Chapter One**

I leant back in my leather office chair, folded my arms across my chest and looked Vincent Plum in the eyes. "I don't care what you have to do, Vinnie, I want to see a return on my investment."

Vinnie squirmed in his seat and wrung his hands. "You know how it is, Ric… Money's tied up in stuff; I just can't get hold of it like that."

"More like your bookie is looking after it for you, Plum. Do you think I'm stupid?" I growled.

The swarthy looking Bail Bondsman shifted in his seat again and loosened his cheap tie. "It's not like that-"

I cut him off. "Bullshit. I bank roll you, I God damn own you, and for a profitable business, I'm not seeing a decent enough return."

"You've seen the accounts…"

"I've seen both sets of accounts, you worm; the ones you gave me and also the other set that Connie keeps in her desk drawer. As of last week, you owe me nearly half a million dollars in missing payments."

Tank, my enforcer, left his post against the back wall of my office, and stepped up behind Vinnie. He placed one huge hand on the little guy's shoulder and squeezed. Vinnie yelped.

I leant forward and steepled my fingers. "When do I get my missing money, Vinnie?"

His mouth opened and closed rapidly like a fish gasping for air. "I don't have it! It's all gone, I'm sorry, I have a gambling problem, okay?"

I snorted. "You have more than just gambling issues right now, Plum. Okay, so what do you have, a car, house, and your wife's jewelry maybe?"

Vinnie shook his head rapidly. "No! It's all in Lucille's name…"

I slumped back in my seat. "You're telling me that Harry the Hammer's daughter's name is on all of your assets?"

He gulped. "Yeah."

Lester looked up from his spot on the couch and pulled a wicked looking knife out of his boot. "You want me to cut a few fingers off this loser, boss?"

Tank smiled evilly and held Vinnie down in his seat with one hand. "Now that certainly sounds like a plan to me."

"Noooo!" Vinnie wailed. "Please, Ric, I can get the money, I just need a little time."

I shot him a stern glare. "How long?"

"A month, two at the most…"

I shook my head. "Not good enough, Vinnie."

Sweat trickled down his face. "Please, I just need some time."

"I'll give you two weeks, and there will be interest on that half a mil too. Let's say roughly $550, 000 by two weeks tomorrow; but to get that deal, I want some insurance."

"Insurance?"

I nodded. "Yeah, insurance, something that stops you from skipping town, you slimy little shit. What have you got?"

"Nothing."

"You must have something that I want."

"There's just the business, that's all I have. Everything else belongs to Lucille or her father; you don't want to mess with Harry the Hammer."

Lester sorted. "You think we're scared of Harry the fucking Hammer?"

"You should be," Vinnie squeaked.

"I think," I said calmly, "that starting a pissing contest with Harry is not to anyone's advantage right now. There would be casualties on both sides, and I can do without the hassle. But, if you continue to cheat me, Vinnie then I will drag your father in law into this. I will tell him all about your gambling debts, your mistress, and the duck. You know that it won't end well for you if I have to go to Harry, don't you?"

"Yeah… Look, we've got a stack of stuff back at the office; things people use to secure their bonds with, you can have all of that if you like."

I shook my head. "No dice."

"I don't have anything…" he whispered.

"Stocks, shares?" I quizzed.

"No."

How the hell had we missed this shit when we bankrolled this sleaze? Someone was slipping, namely my accountant. "Bobby!"

Footsteps sounded down the corridor, the door swung open, and Bobby Brown, my accountant stepped into the room. "What's up, boss?"

I gestured at Vinnie. "You do the checks on this piece of shit?"

Bobby shrugged and leant up against the wall. "Maybe, it must have been a couple of years ago now. You want me to pull his file?"

I nodded, "Yeah, something's seriously wrong with this picture."

Bobby stuck his head back out into the corridor. "Hey Tabitha, pull the Plum file for me, doll!" he yelled to his assistant. "Ric thinks it's off."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes while we waited for the file. Tank remained behind Vinnie, huge hand on his shoulder while the weasely little shit sat there and sweated in his nasty looking polyester suit. Bobby twisted his braids around his fingers, and Lester picked at his nails with his knife.

Finally Tabitha entered with a slim manila file. Her chunky biker boots thumped across the carpet as she walked over to my desk and set the file down in front of me. She shook her head and then pushed her glasses back up her nose, a nervous habit of hers. "If something's wrong with this, then don't look at me, boss. I'm just the messenger."

I flipped the file open and scanned the first couple of pages. "Tabitha."

She shifted uncomfortably, bit her lip and peered at me cautiously over the rim of her specs. "Yeah?"

"You're right; I don't need to look at you. Go finish those background reports on those loan requests that have come in."

She nodded, obviously relieved to be off the hook, and high-tailed it out of the room.

"You want to explain this to me, Brown?" I asked as I picked up the file and offered it to him.

Bobby crossed his arms over his chest. "Explain what, Ric?"

"Why you had one single, solitary conversation with Vincent Plum and believed him when he said that he had a house and two cars. That bastard doesn't seem to have a pot to piss in, but his wife has a house and two cars, and I sure as hell didn't bankroll her, now did I?" I growled.

Bobby shook his head and the red plastic beads on his cornrows clacked together. "I…"

"Fucked up. Again. You think we're running a fucking charity here?"

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"That's the fourth fucked up account in as many weeks, Bobby!" I snarled. "That sort of shit is not fucking good enough."

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"And so am I," I replied as I pulled out the Glock from the back of my jeans and shot him in the kneecap.

Bobby began to scream long before he hit the deck with a thud. The black carpet would hide any of the bloodstains once dry, but the magnolia wall behind him had a fresh spray of blood arcing across it, and was going to need repainting. I knew from past events that the blood wouldn't come off of the paintwork and would need re-decorating. Still, the magnolia was a little dull, and a change would be nice; some consolation I suppose. I looked over to my cousin. "Lester, clean this shit up. Get that idiot out of my sight before I put another bullet in him to shut him the hell up."

Lester slid his knife away, jammed his hands under Bobby's armpits and hauled him out of the room. Blood from the shattered knee left a streak on the linoleum outside in the corridor as Lester dragged him away.

"And get someone to mop the floor," I called out before the door clicked shut. I turned my attention back to Vinnie. "So I guess we're just going to have to cut a new deal, Vincent."

There was a soft tap at the door.

"Enter," I said coldly, annoyed at yet another interruption.

The door clicked open again and Tabitha stepped cautiously over the damp patches of blood, before she crossed to my desk and gingerly placed a file on it. "I'm sorry to bother you again, boss…"

"Not a problem, Tabitha."

"I overheard what you said to Mr. Plum. I didn't mean to, it wasn't on purpose…" she tailed off as she took a couple of steps away from me.

"That's quite alright, babe. What's in the file?"

"Your insurance. Stephanie Plum, you gave her a small loan when her Miata was repossessed so she could get it back."

I smiled and then looked to Vinnie. "Your cousin, correct?"

"Um yeah, but-"

"But family is family," I said. "And doesn't she work for you too?"

"Bond enforcement for Plum Bail Bonds," Tabitha rattled off. "Low income, sporadic pay cheques; hence the rate of interest and loan term I set for her."

"So Vinnie, Tabitha is quite correct, that is your insurance. Every day you're late in paying me past the deadline, I'll cut off bits of your cousin, starting with her fingers. Do you understand me?"

Vinnie had gone pale. He nodded once. "Sure, yeah, I understand you, Manoso."

I looked back to Tabitha. "Go clear your desk."

"Ric…" she whispered uncertainly. "I swear I wasn't listening in on purpose. Please-"

I was enjoying watching her squirm, but in the end I took pity on her. "You can have Bobby's old desk. I'm putting you in charge."

"Oh…"

I smirked. "That all you got to say on the matter?"

Tabitha looked to the fading blood stains and then back to me. "I…"

I stood up, moved around my desk and came to a stop in front of her. She took an involuntary step backwards and bumped into a brick wall, also known as Tank.

I reached out slowly and grazed my knuckles along her cheek bone. "You ever tried to cross me?"

Tank placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched. "No Ric," she said quietly.

"You ever fucked up?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so."

I nodded, "Exactly. And how long have you worked for me, babe?"

"Three years, nearly four."

"You're a valuable asset to my operations, Tabitha," I said.

Her gaze flicked to the blood stains again and then back to my face. "Bobby…"

"Fucked up," I stated. "You think I'd shoot you too if you failed me?"

Tabitha nodded. "Yes, without a doubt."

I smiled. "You're a clever girl, you'll be fine. _Won't_ you?"

"I hope so," she whispered.

"Do your job, give me your loyalty, just like you have been doing, and you'll be okay. I'll make sure that you're well compensated."

"Sure, but…"

I took a step closer, effectively sandwiching her between Tank and I. "Are you afraid of me?"

"All the time," she answered honestly.

I cupped her cheek and dipped my head down to hers, and then kissed her slowly on the lips. "You scared of me now, babe?"

Her hands had come to rest on my forearms, and she jerked them back as if my skin had burned her. "Shit! Don't do -"

I kissed her again, and I could almost feel her warring emotions. "Well, are you still scared of me?" I pressed.

I let Tabitha push me away. "Now I'm terrified of you," she whispered.

"I can make you scream, babe, but in a very good way. Not everything I do pertains to violence."

"I'll pass, thank you," she said in the calmest voice she could muster as she edged towards the door. "I'll go move my stuff."

"You do that, babe."

She fled from the room and as soon as the door shut, Tank started to laugh. "Jeez, you sure have a way with the ladies, Ric."

I shrugged. "She's loyal, honest, scared to death of me, and yet would fall into bed with me if I pursued her enough. She'll be perfect for the job, and hopefully, we'll have now seen the last of any accounting fuck ups. It's simply good business, Tank."

He grinned. "Fair enough, boss."

I turned my attention back to Vinnie. "So, you owe me approximately $550,000 and you have two weeks to pay up, otherwise I'll become very acquainted with your pretty young cousin. Are we both on the same page here?"

"Yeah, I understand, Ric."

"Good. So what the hell are you still doing sat there? Go get me my money, you asshole!"

Vinnie jumped up from his seat and dashed out of my office, almost collided with one of my men who was mopping the corridor and then hustled away into the twilight. He'd pay, I was almost one hundred percent sure of it. And if not, well then I'd just have to pay a little visit to one Stephanie Plum.

I stepped out of my office, ignored Cal who was still cleaning the floor and walked into Tabitha's new office. "I want you ready at 8.45 A.M; we're going to do an audit of Plum Bail Bonds' accounts, and I want you to find out exactly, to the last cent, how much that piece of shit owes me."

"Sure, Ric."

I turned to leave, and the paused in the door way. "Oh, and Tabitha?"

"Yes?"

I gestured to her usual outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. "Wear something sexy tomorrow, babe."

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Boss?"

"A short skirt, maybe. And I do like a woman in stockings and heels."

"But…"

I moved back into the room and leant up against her desk. "How's your mom, your younger brothers and sisters? You still give them most of your wages so they can put food on the table while your father's locked up again?"

Tabitha scrubbed her hands over her face and shook her head slowly.

I raised an eyebrow. "How old is that pretty blonde sister of yours now? She must be eighteen, yeah?"

"Ricardo, please," Tabitha whispered, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"8.45 AM, my office," I said calmly as I pulled a roll of notes out of my back pocket, peeled off half a dozen hundreds and offered them to her. "Go get yourself some new clothes, babe. I'm sick and tired of seeing you in the same jeans, four t-shirts and threadbare hoodie all the time."

She reached out slowly and took the notes from my outstretched hand, folded them carefully and put them in her back pocket. "I'll bring you the receipts and the change."

"Keep it. Can't have my number one girl looking like she dresses out of a thrift store."

Tabitha nodded and wiped her sweaty palms on the back of her jeans. "Okay."

"I'll see you in the morning," I said as I headed for the door. I looked back over my shoulder and smiled slightly. "You do a good job for me, babe, and there's plenty more where that came from."

"And if I don't…" she all but whispered to herself.

"So see that you don't fuck up, Tabitha. I'd hate to have to put bullet holes in your new clothes."

"Shit," she murmured.

"Better the devil you know, babe," I commented over my shoulder as I walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Bought & Sold**

**Chapter Two**

At 8.45AM exactly, there was a soft knock on my office door. The knob turned slowly and Tabitha stepped cautiously into the doorway. She had very sensibly taken my advice and gone shopping for some new clothes; gone were the jeans and t-shirt. They had been replaced with a red V-neck cashmere sweater, a partially unbuttoned black blouse that looked like it was made of silk, a black skirt that ended just above her knees, black pantyhose or stockings, and pretty yet sensible pumps with straps that twined around her ankles a couple of times. Her face was made up with a small amount of makeup, and her fine blonde hair was held away from her face in a twist. She looked very smart, and very sexy; it certainly made a change from her usual get-up.

I beckoned her into the room and then gestured for her to turn around. She begrudgingly did so, then hugged her arms to her chest and stood there in front of me looking uncomfortable.

"You look very pretty, Tabitha," I said as I stood up, checked over my weapons, and slid my suit jacket on. "Who would have known that under all that grunge chic there was an attractive young woman?"

She blushed and looked away.

"Come on, we need to get moving; I want to catch Vinnie on the back foot – before he has a chance to start shredding paperwork."

I strode down the corridor to the small back room that was occupied by Tank and Lester; Tabitha trailed along behind me. Tank was sat at his cluttered desk, feet propped up on the scarred surface, take out coffee in one hand, newspaper in the other. Lester was still in the same jeans and wife beater that he'd had on the day before, and was face first down on the couch, snoring softly. No doubt he'd been trolling bars until the early hours, before coming back here to crash.

Tank lowered his paper and raised an eyebrow. "Boss?"

"We're heading over to Vinnie's; I'm taking the Turbo. Kick Lester awake and take one of the trucks. I want us on the road in five minutes," I stated.

Tank nodded, then picked up a stapler and tossed it at my cousin. It hit him square on the middle of his back. Lester jerked awake, instinctively went for the Sig that was normally kept at the small of his back, only to find that it wasn't there; it was on the coffee table next to him on top of a heap of porn mags. He rolled over without thinking, slid off the sofa and landed in an ungainly heap on the floor. "What the fuck?" he growled.

"Get up," Tank gritted out as he himself stood up and started arming himself. "We're rolling in five, man."

Lester let out a string of choice swear words as he hauled himself to his feet.

"You kiss your momma with that mouth?" Tank teased.

Lester shook his head, snatched Tank's coffee from the desk, and chugged a good portion of it. "Fuck you, man."

I cleared my throat, and Lester shot me a glare. "What?"

"Five minutes," I said as I tapped my watch for emphasis.

He ran his fingers through his snarled long brown hair and sighed. "At least let me take a piss, Ric."

I smirked. "I don't give a damn what you do, cousin, just get your ass down those stairs within five minutes. We're on a deadline here."

"Deadline? We're only gonna hustle over to Vinnie's and scare the crap outta him," he muttered.

I glanced at my watch. "Four minutes, Lester."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on, man," he groused as he pushed past me, and then let out a long, low whistle. "Well fuck me, little girl, you sure clean up real good."

"Shut up, Lester," Tabitha muttered.

He laughed and set off down the corridor. Tabitha yelped as he walked past her; no doubt my cousin had just squeezed her ass.

I glanced around to look at her; she was smoothing her skirt back down her legs.

"Can I wear pants tomorrow, please?" she asked.

I took a step towards her. "Are you wearing hose or stockings under that skirt?"

Tabitha bit her lip.

"Well?" I pressed.

"Stockings," she whispered.

"Show me."

"Ric…"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Show me."

She reached down slowly and tugged the hem of her skirt up just enough to flash me the tops of her stockings, then glanced up to look at me, her gaze questioning.

"Nice, very nice. You can show me the rest later," I said as I shot her my wolf grin.

"Stop it!" she hissed. "I'm not your personal dress-up doll or your whore, so leave me the hell alone."

"I love it when you get all riled up, babe," I teased.

Tabitha glared.

"Stop terrorizing the poor girl," Tank chastised, as he pushed past me to get into the corridor. He offered her his arm, and she took it. He then smiled down at her. "I work with a bunch of animals; no manners, any of them."

* * *

We arrived at Plum Bail Bonds fifteen minutes later, and there was no sign of Vinnie. In fact there was no sign of anyone but Connie, the office manager. She certainly looked startled as I strode into the grimy office with Tabitha and Tank in tow.

"He in?" I questioned.

Connie shook her head. "He phoned in a few minutes ago; he's gone to the dog track for the day. Why, is there some sort of problem, Mr. Manoso?"

"We've come to do your annual audit; did Vinnie not mention it to you on the phone? We did discuss this yesterday when he came to see me," I lied.

"Oh… Vinnie didn't… I…" Connie babbled.

"Probably just an oversight on his part, I'm sure," I said smoothly. "You don't mind if we use his office to go through the files, do you?"

She shifted in her seat, glanced over to the closed door and then back to me. "I don't know…"

I smiled my panty melting smile at Connie. "You're a star, babe. I take cream in my coffee, no sugar, Tank and Tabitha take it with cream and one, and my man out in the truck will be grateful for just getting a coffee, as he needs the caffeine to stave off his hangover."

"Um, sure…" she replied.

I tried Vinnie's office door and it clicked open. "We'll just set ourselves up in here, Connie; you won't even know that we're here. Just bring the coffee in when you've done."

The poor woman just sat there in silence for a few beats, before she slowly shook her head and then got up to fix our drinks. I ushered Tabitha into Vinnie's inner sanctum and left Tank out front to watch to door.

The office was sparsely furnished – desk, couple of chairs, computer, a filing cabinet and a couple of cheap and nasty prints on the stained walls. Tabitha booted up the PC and then turned her attention to the cabinet. She hauled out a couple of reams worth of paperwork and dropped it on the desk with a thump. "Are you planning on standing there and watching, or are you going to help?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I was hoping to terrorize Vinnie a little more, but seeing as he's not in today, I guess I'll just have to hassle you instead."

"You could help," she said again.

"Or not," I said with a grin. "I wouldn't even know what to look for, babe."

"We're checking the financial ledgers against the paperwork for any inconsistencies," Tabitha explained. "Even you should be able to handle that."

I dropped down into the guest chair, stretched my legs out in front of me and then crossed them at the ankles, then adjusted the gun at the small of my back. "I'll just watch the genius at work."

Tabitha scowled. "I haven't found anything yet; there's no telling how easy it will be to follow the paper trails and unravel this mess."

"You've got all day, so don't sweat it, babe," I said with a smile. "Besides, I'm enjoying the view from this side of the desk."

She looked up from the pile of papers and frowned. "Excuse me?"

I gestured to her cleavage that was visible every time she bent over the files. "Beats starting at those cheap-ass prints."

The door clicked open and Connie entered, carrying two mugs of coffee. She placed Tabitha's on Vinnie's desk and handed me mine. I nodded my thanks and took a sip. "How come you don't make my coffee, Tabby?"

"Because you have Lester to do that for you, and you don't pay me enough to be your lackey," she said acerbically as she clicked through a few files on the computer.

Connie hovered next to the desk. "Is there anything… can I help at all?"

"I need a list of all bonds issued by the company; where will I find it?" Tabitha said.

Connie shifted uncomfortably. "Well…"

"And the back-up documentation from the court as well please."

"All of it?" Connie asked in horror.

"Every single scrap of paper that you have, love. And I'll need the number of the clerk of the court so I can have their records too, so I can cross reference," Tabitha explained.

"That's a lot of paperwork, I'm not sure that we keep those sorts of records."

Tabitha sat back and nailed Connie with a stern glare. "I hope to hell that you do have them, because they provide the basis of the business' income for tax purposes. What would you do if the IRS turned up?"

Connie backed out of the office. "I'll see what I can do."

"Are you suspicious of anything yet?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I just want to be through, is all. Don't want to fuck up and have it coming back to bite me on the ass, Ric."

The bell over the front door sounded and I heard someone enter the main office.

"Morning Connie. Man, I have you seen that Porsche at the curb? Must have cost… Oh."

I guessed that the new woman in the office had just spotted Tank; he remained silent.

She seemed to move towards Connie's desk at the far end of the room. "I brought donuts, Con. Is Vinnie in?"

There was the faint rustle of a pastry box being opened. "No, but…"

"But?"

"We're being audited, Steph," Connie informed her.

Ahh, so the new arrival was none other than Ms. Stephanie Plum. It was about time that we became acquainted.

I stepped out into the main office and Stephanie froze, donut half way to her mouth.

"That stuff'll kill you, babe," I said with a smirk.

"Um, hi," she said uncertainly as she gave me a little finger wave with her free hand. "So you don't want a donut then?"

I shook my head. "No thank you."

"I'm sorry, I don't think that I caught your name," she said.

"No, you didn't," I responded.

"Oh… I'm Steph."

I smiled slightly. "I know. In fact, I know all about you, Stephanie Plum."

She took a step away from me. "You're not some kind of crazy or my newest stalker are you, buster?"

"Not at all, babe."

She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God for that."

"I'm your worst nightmare, babe," I said with a Machiavellian grin.

Stephanie frowned, donut forgotten in her hand, and I watched as a blob of jelly dripped from it and landed on the carpet. Connie went white and then fainted. It looked like Connie was well aware of my reputation. Still, it was early yet and there was still time for me to clue Stephanie Plum in.


End file.
